Chocolate Cupcakes
by Miss Peeps
Summary: Overpriced chocolates, flowers and whatnot have no place near Cagalli on this day of the year. Expecting a Valentine's gift from Athrun on the anniversary of Junius Seven would be insulting. So why is he baking cupcakes at two a.m.? Written for the AsuCaga Valentine's Day Parade


AN: This one-shot fluff-fic is written for the AsuCaga Valentine's Day Parade!

If you love Athrun and Cagalli, check out the AsuCaga fan group on Facebook, AsuCaga Forever.

**Chocolate Cupcakes**

February 15, C.E. 75

Cagalli didn't bother to conceal her yawn as she walked up the stairs of the Athha Estate. Her feet moved on their own; her mind was elsewhere. Namely, in bed.

Work never stopped for the head of state; each and every day promised to be as busy and stressful as the one before. Even so, certain days managed to stretch out longer than others. Valentine's Memorial Day was one of those longer days. When she finally arrived home, her watch read ten till two a.m. Reaching the top of the stairs, something caught her eye.

Down the hall, a light was on.

That was odd. The cleaning staff never left the lights on, and if they had, then the regular security rounds should have noticed and turned them off. As she looked down the hall, two choices came to mind. She could go right to bed and leave the light on all night, or she could spend whatever energy she had left to walk all the way down the hall and turn it off. She leaned towards the first choice. She was exhausted.

Cagalli had spent the day talking in front of microphones, crowds, and cameras; and visiting families at the memorial for fallen Orb soldiers. In the evening, she hosted an honorary dinner for fifty active duty soldiers and their guests. Cagalli related to the families who had lost loved ones in the war on a far deeper level than the average government official. She had experienced more than her fair share of loss as well. Regardless of that, or perhaps because of that, portraying strength and leadership while expressing sympathy to families was one of the most challenging tasks she faced. Listening to heart wrenching tales from those who looked to her for leadership made her shoulders grow heavy and her chest tighten.

Days like this zapped her energy.

Although the strain made Valentine's Memorial Day undeniably long, it was an invaluable day of remembrance for the world, Orb included. Over the past few years, the fourteenth of February had become a day treated with solemn respect. But the year before, and this year as well, the day taken on a different vibe. Marketers took to heart the right of free enterprise and used the War Memorial Day to market cutely wrapped chocolate. To sell red and pink greeting cards. To convince men to buy flowers, jewelry, and make romantic dinner reservations.

And to Cagalli's chagrin, retailers of chocolates and flowers enjoyed a nice boost in sales. Sometimes, Cagalli felt awe for the strength and will of the citizens of Orb. Other times, she was appalled by the petty nature of the same people. Did they have no consideration for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost on this day, and the millions lost in the wars that followed? Were they forgetting the casualties Orb faced, even with a policy of neutrality?

Overpriced chocolates, flowers and whatnot had no place near Cagalli on this day of the year. She intended to treat Valentine's Day as the memorial day it was, and she was sure that those around her felt the same way.

After all, asking for a Valentine's Day gift from Athrun on the anniversary of Junius Seven would be the cruelest of insults. Just thinking of something like that was disrespectful. Thankfully, this day was over. Almost two in the morning... After a full day out in the public, tomorrow was sure to be a full day of paperwork.

And yet the light down the hall...

A bit of curiosity sparked inside of her. The staff simply did not leave lights on. Had someone else been here? Eyebrows furrowed, Cagalli followed the light down the hall. Apparently, it was the kitchen. Perhaps her imagination was the getting the best of her, but she couldn't help but wonder, was someone else in her house?

When she looked in the kitchen, Cagalli couldn't help but grin. She should have guessed. A familiar blue-haired Coordinator had fallen asleep at her kitchen table. Athrun had his arms crossed on the table, and he leaned over, resting his head on the makeshift pillow. This wasn't the first time Cagalli had caught Athrun sleeping in places he shouldn't, but she wasn't expecting him that day.

She walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly. "Athrun, what are you doing here?" she asked. "It's two o'clock in the morning."

Athrun's eyes widened. "Already?" quickly, he stood up and ran to check the oven, then his watch. "It's not quite two yet," he said.

She was even more curious. "Are you baking something?" Now that she thought about it, she could smell something sweet. Cagalli checked the oven herself and then looked to Athrun quizzically. "Chocolate cupcakes?"

"Yes."

"Why are you baking chocolate cupcakes at two o'clock in the morning?"

Athrun chuckled at Cagalli's confusion. "Don't pretend like you don't like chocolate cupcakes," said Athrun. "You eat them every other day."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I was planning on eating them with you when you got back, but you got home a few minutes early."

"Good thing, too, since you fell asleep. If I had gotten back a few minutes later, the oven would have been on fire," said Cagalli.

"I was just resting my eyes," Athrun protested.

"Say what you want," she teased him. "I'm surprised to see you, though. I thought you were still on PLANT. You only left last week. I thought you would stay longer. You don't go visit very often."

"I left after the memorial service," said Athrun. "I didn't need to spend too much time there anyways."

"Why so soon?"

He shrugged in response. "Why not? A few days are enough. I wanted to come back," said Athrun. "And Myrna is worried about you."

Cagalli couldn't help but laugh. "Is that the best excuse you can come up with? She's always worried about me."

"Something about you and the Russian Prime Minister's nephew," Athrun teased her. "And then Gordon something from the Atlantic federation, and some other young fellow in Orb...?"

He knew just how to poke her nerves. It wasn't that she was bothered by gossip news, but that there were people who enjoyed such a thing. "If reporters spent half as much time writing real stories as they did making things up..."

"And of course, my favorite so far, 'Man leaving Athha Estate in the early morning identified as Admiral Zala. What urgent threat could lead the Admiral to visit the Chief Representative's private residence in the early morning?"

That managed to get a laugh out of Cagalli. "It's funny now, but at the time..." A loud ringing from Athrun's pocket interrupted her.

"And that would mean it's two o'clock," said Athrun. He pushed her towards the kitchen table. "You go sit down."

She sat, plopped her elbow down on the table, cupped her chin in her hand, and watched with amusement as Athrun retrieved the batch of cupcakes from the oven. After putting the cupcakes on the stove, he tried to grab one of them out of the pan and nearly burned his fingers.

He didn't seem to know what he was doing. "Have you ever made cupcakes before?" Cagalli asked.

"As a matter of fact, I have," he said. "Mixing ingredients in a bowl isn't difficult."

Cagalli stood up to help, but Athrun immediately told her to sit back down. He managed to get a cupcake out of the pan and onto a plate. She watched his back as he fixed it up.

A minute later, he sat down beside Cagalli and presented her with a fork and a single chocolate cupcake.

It was a rather sorry looking cupcake. The filling didn't quite reach the top of the liner, and the dark brown icing had melted and dribbled off the sides. A few red sprinkles stuck to the top.

She picked up the fork and took a bite. Athrun looked at her expectantly.

"Warm and delicious," she said.

He smiled. "I'm glad you like it. Happy Valentine's."

Athrun's words made her stomach sink. Was that what this was about? The marketers had somehow convinced Athrun, of all people, that he needed to treat this day like a silly couple's day?

"Athrun, you didn't need to do anything for me for Valentine's," she said.

"I wanted to," he said.

"I never expected something like this from you on Valentine's Day. It must be hard for you, considering your mother."

If it was anyone else who knew Athrun, they would have kept silent and avoided the subject. Cagalli, however, was not that type of person. She had learned to use tact and diplomacy from spending time in public offices, but those manners had never been extended to Athrun. With those closest to her, she went straight to the point.

Athrun shook his head at the comment. "Cagalli, only you would say something like that."

She prodded him right where it hurt. She wasn't being rude, it was simply the way she was. Of course, if Athrun was talking to anyone other than Cagalli, he would have quickly steered the topic of conversation to something less serious, as to not make the person he was talking to uncomfortable. Cagalli was different; he could be honest with her.

He took Cagalli's fork, and took a bite of chocolate cupcake for himself.

"When I was in grade school, my mother used to make cupcakes for Valentine's Day, and for other holidays for that matter. She wasn't much of a cook, she just got the mix from the grocery store, but when I was a kid I didn't know the difference. So I thought I'd try making them myself, and see if you liked them as well."

Cagalli nodded silently, and asked, "Were they like this?"

"Pretty much," said Athrun. "Best when they're just out of the oven. Not so good after that."

They passed the fork back and forth, and the cupcake was gone within a few more bites. The warm chocolate gave her a sensation of fuzzy content, and at the same time, left her feeling unsettled. Just earlier that day, she had been supremely annoyed at any marketed romance scheme. Now, she had a warm, chocolate cupcake from _Athrun_, of all people, and it made her happy. Heck, she would have been just as happy if it tasted like dirt.

Had he come back from the Junius Seven Memorial Service early for this?

"I feel like a hypocrite. I've been annoyed every time I saw a Valentine's Day advertisement, thinking this is a memorial day, wondering how can people treat it like a..." She paused, searching for the right words, "a cheesy romance day."

"You're half right. It is a memorial day, and I bet there's no one alive who hasn't suffered because of the wars, except for maybe a new born baby," said Athrun. "But it's also Valentine's, and rather than letting it turn into a symbol of war, I think people prefer," he met her eyes with a sideways glance and sent her words back to her, "a cheesy romance day. We've already got plenty of horrible things to remember, why throw away a day to remember cheesy romance?"

"You're right. Thank you for the cupcake," she said.

"Would you like another?" Athrun asked.

"I think I need to go to bed," said Cagalli. She stood up, stretching her arms. "And when exactly did you get back from PLANT?"

"Just a few hours ago," he said.

"You must be exhausted."

"I'm not terribly tired."

"Says the guy who falls asleep at my kitchen table."

"I wasn't asleep."

"Right, and what about the time..."

Athrun's arm slipped around her back, pulling her up against his chest. Cagalli was startled enough that she completely forgot the rest of her sentence. Even after being around him for years, he still had a knack for catching off guard.

She allowed herself to wrap her arms around his waist and rest her head against his shoulder. She could easily fall asleep standing up.

Athrun stepped away from her slightly and his hand moved to her neck. Cagalli lifted her head and Athrun dipped his down so that their foreheads touched. For a few seconds, she had a close up view of two bright green eyes. They shut.

As expected, he tasted like chocolate cupcakes.

Whenever Athrun did this to her, he brought out the strange bit of warm happiness. That odd, light feeling in her chest and stomach. Strangely enough, it resembled the pleasure of eating warm chocolate cupcakes. Any other thought was wiped from her mind.

AN: This is a bit of a diversion from what I normally write. I _wanted_ to write something funny for the AC-VDP, but the inspiration fairy didn't care to pay me a visit. Do tell me what you think of this. ^^


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